Undergraduate Scholarships in Europe for African Students
Undergraduate funding in Europe is real, but genuinely competitive and more limited than at Master's level. Stipendium Hungaricum, run by Hungary, is the single most important scheme covering bachelor's study, open to students from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda and Egypt. Germany's near-zero public tuition provides different relief; Chevening, DAAD and Commonwealth begin at Master's level.
The Honest Picture: Why Most Schemes Target Postgraduates
European scholarship systems are built around the assumption that applicants have already completed a first degree. The logic is partly practical — a bachelor’s applicant is typically 17–19 years old, relatively unknown to the selection committee, and still building a professional track record — and partly political, since most funders want proven capacity before committing to a full award.
The practical consequence for African undergraduates is that the landscape narrows quickly. Chevening is a taught Master’s award. Commonwealth Scholarships cover Master’s and PhD. DAAD’s study scholarships are for Master’s-level graduates. If you are reading this before completing your secondary education or while studying for your first degree, these schemes are for the next stage, not now.
What remains at bachelor’s level is smaller but not negligible: Stipendium Hungaricum, the Deutschlandstipendium in Germany, and the structural advantage of low or zero tuition at public universities in Germany and Poland.
Stipendium Hungaricum — The Main Undergraduate Route
Stipendium Hungaricum is a Hungarian government scholarship administered through the Tempus Public Foundation. It explicitly covers Bachelor’s, Master’s, one-tier Master’s (such as medicine), PhD, and non-degree programmes. For African students, this is the primary government-to-government scholarship available at undergraduate level in Europe.
Who Is Eligible?
Eligibility is by nationality and depends on your country having a bilateral government agreement with Hungary. As of June 2026:
| Origin | BA-Level Eligible? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | ✅ Yes | Confirmed; nomination via Nigerian sending authority |
| Ghana | ✅ Yes | Confirmed |
| Kenya | ✅ Yes | Confirmed; Kenya Ministry of Education coordinates |
| South Africa | ✅ Yes | Confirmed |
| Uganda | ✅ Yes | Confirmed |
| Egypt | ✅ Yes | ~200 places/year across all levels |
| Zimbabwe | ❌ No | Zimbabwe is NOT eligible for Stipendium Hungaricum |
| Zambia | ❌ No | Zambia is NOT eligible for Stipendium Hungaricum |
Important catch: Stipendium Hungaricum works through a nomination process. You cannot apply directly to Hungary — you must first be nominated by your country’s designated sending organisation (for example, Kenya’s Ministry of Education). The sending authority sets its own internal selection deadlines, which are often earlier than the Tempus deadline.
What Does It Cover?
Stipendium Hungaricum provides: tuition fee waiver, a monthly stipend, a contribution towards accommodation costs, and medical insurance. The specific monthly stipend and accommodation amounts should be verified on the Stipendium Hungaricum official website for the relevant cycle, as these are set per programme round.
When to Apply
The programme typically closes around 15 January each year for the following academic year’s intake. Check your country’s Ministry of Education and the official Stipendium Hungaricum portal for exact dates — do not rely on third-party aggregators for deadlines.
Germany — Zero Tuition and the Deutschlandstipendium
Germany’s public university system charges no tuition fees for undergraduate study at most institutions — for any nationality, including Africans. You pay a semester contribution (typically around €100–400 per semester, which often includes a regional public-transport pass) and nothing else in standard tuition.
Two important exceptions (as of June 2026, VOLATILE):
- Baden-Württemberg state: All public universities charge €3,000/year for non-EU students. This covers universities such as Heidelberg, Freiburg, Karlsruhe (KIT), and Stuttgart.
- TU Munich (TUM): Charges €4,000–6,000/year for non-EU bachelor’s students, depending on subject.
Outside these two, public bachelor’s study in Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Leipzig, Bremen, and most other German cities costs nothing in tuition.
The catch that matters: Even with zero tuition, you still need to prove funds of €11,904/year (as of June 2026, VOLATILE) to obtain a German student visa via a blocked account. That is approximately ₦18.75 million (NGN), KSh 1.75 million (KES), or R 223,000 (ZAR) at June 2026 exchange rates — re-check before you pay at current rates. The blocked account demonstrates you can cover living costs; it is not a scholarship.
One more English-language limitation worth knowing: only around 4% of German bachelor’s programmes are taught in English (as of the 2025 dataset). The bachelor’s landscape is largely German-taught. Students who are not at C1 German will find the programme options narrow.
The Deutschlandstipendium Top-Up
The Deutschlandstipendium is a merit-based award of €300/month available to bachelor’s and master’s students at participating German universities. Nationality is not a criterion — international students including Africans are eligible. The award is co-funded (€150 from the Federal Government, €150 from a private sponsor matched per student).
The catch: there is no central deadline or application portal. Each participating university runs its own selection process, and the number of awards varies. Apply directly via your university’s scholarship office once you have a place offer. Do not expect this to cover living costs on its own, but as a supplement it is meaningful.
What Other Countries Offer at Bachelor’s Level
Hungary (Self-Funded, Without Stipendium Hungaricum)
Hungarian universities typically charge approximately USD 6,000–8,000/year for bachelor’s programmes for self-funded international students (as of June 2026 — re-check per university, as fees are set in USD or HUF and are VOLATILE). Living costs run around €600/month. Without Stipendium Hungaricum, Hungary is mid-range in cost.
Poland
Public Polish universities charge a statutory minimum of approximately €2,000/year for bachelor’s study, with typical non-medical programmes costing around €2,000–6,000/year (as of June 2026, VOLATILE). The national visa costs €200 (as of 1 January 2026) — not the stale “€80/€135” that still circulates on many agency sites.
Malta — University of Malta
The University of Malta (UM) charges non-EU students €8,500/year for BA arts and business and €10,800/year for BA science (as of June 2026). The Malta MFA Scholarship is open to students from Ghana and Nigeria only. Verify the current call and level coverage at the Malta Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, as coverage can change between cycles.
Cyprus — Republic of Cyprus Only
Public universities (UCY, CUT) in the Republic of Cyprus charge approximately €6,834/year for non-EU bachelor’s students, but most programmes are Greek-taught. English-taught undergraduate options are primarily at private institutions (UNIC, EUC), which charge around €9,000–11,500/year. Cyprus is an EU member but is not in the Schengen zone — a fact that surprises many students when applying for visas.
Scholarship Comparison Table for African Undergraduates
| Scheme | Level | Available to | Monthly Value / Coverage | Typical Deadline | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stipendium Hungaricum | BA, MA, PhD | NG/GH/KE/SA/Uganda/Egypt | Tuition + stipend + accommodation + insurance | ~15 January | stipendiumhungaricum.hu |
| Deutschlandstipendium | BA, MA (not PhD) | All nationalities (Germany only) | €300/month top-up | Per university | DAAD database |
| Germany zero tuition | BA (public unis) | All nationalities | No tuition (BW/TUM exceptions) | N/A | study-in-germany.de |
Chevening (UK), Commonwealth CSC (UK), DAAD Study Scholarships (Germany), Erasmus Mundus, and GOI-IES (Ireland) all require a completed bachelor’s degree before you can apply. None are available at undergraduate level. If you are planning ahead, these are the next stage.
African Government Funding: The Honest State of Play
Most African government scholarship schemes that fund overseas study are targeted at graduate level or at specific sectors.
Nigeria: The PTDF Overseas Postgraduate Scholarship covers MSc and PhD in the UK, Germany, France, and Malaysia — not undergraduate. The Federal Scholarship Board’s overseas (BEA) scheme was formally discontinued in 2025, with funds redirected to domestic institutions. State schemes (Lagos, Rivers, Kwara, NDDC) vary by year; confirm directly with the relevant state ministry. NELFUND student loans cover domestic Nigerian institutions only, not study abroad.
Kenya: HELB (Higher Education Loans Board) funding is primarily for domestic Kenyan institutions. Check the Kenya Ministry of Education for any bilateral overseas slots; these vary by year.
Other origins: South Africa, Ghana, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe each have domestic scholarship and bursary systems that do not consistently extend to overseas undergraduate funding. Verify per cycle with your national education authority.
The realistic picture for most African undergraduates is that funding must come from a combination of: family resources (including diaspora remittances), the Stipendium Hungaricum nomination process, Deutschlandstipendium if studying in Germany, and the structural cost advantage of German or Polish public universities.
University-Specific Scholarships
Individual universities across Europe — particularly in the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, and at some German and UK institutions — offer partial merit bursaries to international students. These are not tracked in our research database because they change annually and vary by institution. Once you have an unconditional offer from a university, ask the international office directly what merit awards or fee waivers are available. The response varies enormously.
For those targeting UK universities specifically: UK undergraduate tuition for international students runs approximately £20,000–45,000/year (as of June 2026, VOLATILE). University bursaries rarely cover more than a portion of this. The UK is not a realistic destination for self-funded African undergraduates without family-side USD or GBP savings — a point many agents do not make clearly enough.
How World Study Helps
World Study’s core advisory service is free for most students — we work on a 15–25% commission paid by the university, not by you. We help you match your qualifications, budget, and scholarship eligibility to programmes where you have a realistic chance. If you want to discuss whether Stipendium Hungaricum fits your situation, or which German public university city makes most sense, reach out on WhatsApp — it is the fastest way to get a real answer.
Check your personal eligibility in under two minutes at world-study.africa/eligibility-check/.
For the full breakdown of every scholarship available across all study levels, see world-study.africa/scholarships/.
Frequently asked questions
Stipendium Hungaricum is the main European government scholarship that explicitly covers bachelor's (BA) level for African students. It is open to Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, and Egypt — but not Zimbabwe or Zambia. It covers tuition, a monthly living allowance, accommodation contribution, and medical insurance. The programme is administered by Hungary's Tempus Public Foundation and typically closes around 15 January each year.
No. DAAD's main scholarship programmes for African students — the Study Scholarships and the EPOS Development-Related Postgraduate Courses — are for Master's level. The Deutschlandstipendium (€300/month) is an exception: it covers both Bachelor's and Master's students at participating German universities and is open to all nationalities. However, it is awarded by individual universities, not by DAAD centrally, so there is no single application deadline.
Germany offers zero tuition at most public universities for all students, including Africans — the notable exceptions are Baden-Württemberg (€3,000/year for non-EU students, as of June 2026) and TU Munich (€4,000–6,000/year depending on subject). Students must still prove funds of €11,904/year (as of June 2026) for the blocked account required for a German student visa. Poland and Cyprus charge tuition but at levels lower than the UK or Ireland.
No. Chevening funds one-year taught Master's degrees only. The same applies to the Commonwealth Scholarship — it targets Master's and PhD students. If you are still at undergraduate level, neither is an option yet, but they are worth planning for once you hold a bachelor's degree.
Most African government scholarship schemes — including Nigeria's PTDF (which funds MSc and PhD only) and Kenya's HELB — are designed for domestic or postgraduate overseas study. Nigeria's Federal Scholarship Board overseas scheme (BEA) was discontinued in 2025. State-level schemes in Nigeria vary yearly. The absence of federal overseas UG funding means that self-funding, family support, and destination-country scholarships like Stipendium Hungaricum are the realistic options for most students.